Breaking down North of lies, South of redemption
by Maddax
Summary: Sara starts to fear she's losing her mind when an old serial killer case recerfaces.
1. Chapter 1: Preocupied

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from CSI

This is Nick and Sara focused story.

And on with the story…

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Sara could hear the light noise the rain made as it hit the roof. She found had a bitter sweet relationship with it, but, she thought, that's how most relationships are. She rubbed her eyes in an effort to relive the tension which was quickly turning into painful headache. 3 hours, that how long she had been sitting at this computer in a vain attempt to find a link between the two girls who now lay in the morgue's crypt. She let her mind relax for a moment and just concentrated on the rain. It's rhythm slowly started to lull her into a calm trance. She just needed to relax for a moment, just one moment she thought to herself. As she started to daze her mind shifted into a familiar place, a place that during conscious she kept at bay, a place that seemed to have a life of its own and prayed on her at moments of weakness, relation, and sleep. Moments like these. A soft whispering voice from inside her memories startled her back into the real world.

Yep, she though to herself, definitely bitter sweet, one of the few things that made her relax also brought forward the things her nightmares were made of. She ran her hand through her hair in a frustrated manner. She knew her secrets were at the root of all this, or at least that's what the therapist had said.

_7 years ago:_

"_Sara I know you still don't feel comfortable enough to tell me what happened to you, but I believe that the nightmares and hallucinations you having are a result of your bottled up emotions. They're like dreams, once you accept them and figure out they mean they eventually go away"._

_Sara sat with her head tilted in angered shock looking at the woman who sat in front of her, distanced by the large oak desk. Her degrees displayed proudly on the walls._

"_So what your saying is that one day I'm going to wake up and all this is just a bad dream" Sara snapped, turning away in disgust. She didn't understand, she couldn't._

Secrets, they all had them, everyone that worked here did. The pay was crappy, the hours sucked, and you saw more evil in one day then anyone should in a lifetime. Sara handled them when they were at their most destructive, she could now. She looked up through the glass doors. Down the hall she saw Warrick and Nick on their way out. She sighed in regret. Since they had put on the swing shift she hadn't seen much of them. She saw Greg turn the corner, then stop to talk to the two. Greg had changed so much, no longer was the happy go lucky lab rat, he was becoming jaded, just like the rest of them, something she wished would never happen. Deep down part of her had wished he wouldn't become a CSI when he announced he was going for it, she didn't want him to become cynical. She'd never tell him that though, it became one more secret to through onto the pile mounding inside of her, most of she would never face. The irony didn't escape her, a person who's job, basically her life, was to discover other peoples secrets couldn't bring herself to unbury hers.

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Nick stared down the hall and through the glass. Sara sat there staring into the computer. His stomach clenched. He missed her, their friendship, it had wilted to a point where they rarely said hi when passing each other in the hall. He could hear the murmur of Greg and Warrick's voices but he couldn't bring himself to concentrate on what they were saying. So much had changed, the animosity between Grissom and Catherine was becoming apparent, it was something that never used to be there. Catherine was becoming power hungry, she had changed so much. He swore that Grissom had become even less willing to interact with the human race. Nick blindly excused himself from the conversation and exited the building. The cold rain beat down on him, but he barely noticed. His thoughts were in the past, in moments when he and Sara were still close. It had been a bitter sweet relationship. When it was good it was great, but there were moments that the secrets Sara had buried deep inside her seemed to consume her, leaving no room for him. He couldn't blame her for having them, secrets that is, he had them, many, some small things like how he would rather stay in these days then go out clubbing, and some others were so secret he barely admitted them to himself.

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A/N: sorry this was so short but this chapter was more of a warm up one.


	2. Chapter 2: Heat shock

O.K, I'm going to try to update regularly, but I can't promise. This chapter is a little longer.

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Sara's stomach clenched, she was enveloped in a sea of blue. Over half the officers here she didn't recognize. They must have brought in volunteers, she thought to her self. She was only half listening to what the detective was telling her, she didn't need to, she knew what was coming, she'd be just like all the rest. They came to the edge of the river bank. The summers heat had dried it to a barren cracked road. She made eye contact with detective Jack Langdon. His jaw was set in a deep scowl. She took a deep breath preparing herself for what would come. She stepped down onto the path. The bombardment of voices seemed to disappear into a low hum, almost like white noise. She saw a group of people standing in a clump. Words like "Coroner", "Forensics" and "SFPD" were printed on jacket backs. She caught a glimpse of blond hair by one of the peoples feet. Her stomach clenched again. God sometimes she hated this job.

"Sara".

Sara's eyes darted up and found herself looking into the midnight blue eyes of a close friend.

"Is it missing" Sara asked in a low voice.

"Yep, just like the rest", she answered.

"Damn" Sara cursed.

"Yep, damn", The girls voice was colored with sadness, desperation, anger and even fear.

They walked in solemn silence to the group. Stopping she looked down at the girl lying on the cracking ground, her eyes staring up in glassed over emptiness. The coroner tilted the lifeless bodies head to the side, a large chunk of hair had been cut from the base. She was number 6, the sixth in six months. The lifeless girls head snapped to the side, looking her in the eye Sara heard her name come from the lifeless bodies lips.

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Sara shot up out of bed. Her body covered in sweat and the sound of her heart beating was like a drum in her head, she tried desperately she catch her fleeing breath. As the minutes ticked away she could feel herself calm. She had been doing so good, why were the dreams haunting her again. Getting up from her bead she padded into her kitchen. As she stepped out of her bedroom a cool breeze hit her. Stopping for a moment she relished in it, the summer heat was becoming almost unbearable, and having to sleep during the day usually caused her apartment to feel more like a sauna then anything else. Squinting her eyes she grabbed a cup from her cabinet door and waked to the sink, she let the faucet run for a few minutes then placed the glass under the sink. In her newly awoken fog she hadn't noticed the glass was full until the water started to run down her hand. Not looking she the faucet off with her other hand and lifted the glass to her lips. She looked in shock when bright crimson caught her eye. Blood soaked her hand and filled the cup to the rim. In a shocked gasp her hand released the grip on the glass. Her eyes followed the glass as it hit the ground and shattered. The blood seemed to flow from the cup and was consuming her white tile. Her eyes darted to her hand. Panic filled her when her eyes returned to her hand that was now free of any blood. Looking down for some answers the once blood drenched floor was only glistening with water and broken glass. With her shaking hands in her hair her back slid down the refrigerator door.

Sobs and whispers of "I can't do this again" filled the empty apartment.

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Nick couldn't sleep. It was this damn heat wave. If it didn't break soon he knew he would go insane. Rolling over he glanced at his clock. 2:06 glared back at him in violent red numbers. There was no point in going to sleep he would just have to get up in a few hours to get work. Sliding out of bed he walked into his washroom. Stripping the little clothing he could bear to have on in this heat he climbed into the shower. Turning on the water the cold spray was soon beating down on him. He took a deep breath and relaxed in the cooling sensation the water produced. His mind drifted to Sara. She had seemed so preoccupied when he saw her last. He knew if he wanted his friendship with her to be revived he would have to put in the initiating effort. Sara tended to let everything drift away. He knew it wasn't because Sara didn't care about him, it was just that things tend to consume her. By the time it had formed in his mind the decision to drag Sara away to lunch tomorrow had already been made. She was too important to him just to let her slip away.

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It had been 2 hours since the incident and Sara was finally able to pick herself up off the floor. Still shaking she stumbled into the washroom. Numbly she turned on the water and pealed off the sweaty and soaked clothing, and climbed into the shower. Grabbing the soap she scrubbed her body, knowing that no matter how much she scrubbed it wouldn't go away. The horrors of her past still stained her skin.

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A/N: Please review. That's all for now


	3. Chapter 3: The patterns forming

A/N:OK, I finally have sometime off so I'm gonna try to get some updates done this weekend.

And on with the chapter.

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Sara sat frozen on the locker room bench. How had she gotten here?

She couldn't really remember what happened after she got out of the shower, but she had a strange feeling she had forgotten something. Standing up she reached to open her lock. Her hand froze on the number 26. Beating her head against the locker she mumbled to herself, "underwear, God how could I have forgotten underwear". If this wasn't so unnerving, it would have been pretty damn funny. Clicking in the final numbers she opened her locker and placed her jacket inside. The morgue, Doc Robins might have the report done now. A wave of tiredness hit her as she stifled a yawn; wishing she had gotten at least a couple of hours of sleep.

"One foot, then the other, just keep doing that and I'll get through this shift" She thought to herself. Looking up she found herself at the morgue doors. At least her feet knew what to do, she mused to herself. Pasting a friendly smile on her face she pushed herself through the doors.

"So Doc, whatcha got for me" She said in an upbeat tone.

Doc Robins looked up at her, his eyes meeting hers in an equally friendly smile.

"I did some tests to see just how long each of them had been dead. According to the decomposition the brunette Jane Doe, has been dead approximately 2 weeks, The blonde only about 5 days".

Sara's head snapped up from the preliminary she had been reading.

"What?" It was a pointless question, she knew what this meant, the crime scene was no crime scene, it was a dumping ground, which means premeditated murder.

"Did you find the cause of death?" she questioned.

"The COD was suffocation, the broken neck was post- mortem"

"On both"

"Yep"

Sara's stomach sank. She knew the implications of this, there was a good chance that meant a serial killer was on the lose. There was something familiar about these killings, God, there had been so many cases lately, could she have investigated a killing like this just a little while ago. Rubbing her temples, she wished again she had gotten some sleep so she could remember, those damn dreams. Her hands stopped in mid motion. Oh God, oh God, oh God, this could not be happening. Letting her now shaking hands drop to her side, she called o0ut to Doc Robins.

"Was there anything else" she asked trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yes, I was just getting to that, both Victims have a patch of hair missing from the base of their sculls" he said looking up to Sara.

Noting the fresh paleness in her skin, Robins asked concerned "Sara is are you OK".

Sara tried to focus her eyes, she could see doc's mouth moving but it sounded like they were on separate sides of along tunnel. The last thing she saw was the blurry form coming closer to her before everything went black

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Nick was making his way to the break room, when he saw Greg rush past him, with two EMT's in tow

"Wow, Greg, what's going on" Nick worried

"It's Sara, she passed out in the morgue" He said quickly before he dashed off showing the EMTs were to go. Regaining from the shock Nick took off after the group, by the time he got to the morgue the EMTs were already treating an irate Sara.

"Will you get that out of my face, I'm fine" She said swatting away an oxygen mask. The girl obviously had good sense since she gave up trying to force it on Sara.

"Sara, what happen" Nick questioned from the door way.

Sara looked p in surprise.

"Nick what are you doing here" She questioned confusion written on her face.

"I heard from Greg you passed out, are you OK" He said steeping close enough to Sara he could almost touch her.

Getting up from the ground and pushing of the helping hands.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I've got a bit of the flue, mixed in with low blood sugar with a good helping of no sleep, everything just kinda hit me in one moment" She said looking away.

Sara shot him a pointed star when he opened his mouth to lecture her. Giving up on a doomed battled he just said, " Well I can't do anything about the flue but why don't I buy you something to eat my shift doesn't start for an hour any way".

"I can't I've got work, Gris won't…" she was cut of by Nicks waving hand.

"He won't let you pass out again either, he won't mind, plus how many hours of over time have you put in this week anyway, one less hour won't kill you" her bartered.

Sara looked back at the bodies, there was so much work to do, it was all happening again, there would be more killings, she had to prepare, no more could die because she couldn't stop him…

Nick watched as she swayed slightly and paled again.

"Sara this isn't up for discussion" he said grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the morgue.

Trying to pull her hand away she cried "I can't there's too much to do" They will die if I don't help them, she added to herself.

"Sara you can't help them" Nick said in concern. Sara started wide eyed, did he know what she was thinking.

"What" she whispered.

"You said, they'll die if you don't help them, Sara, honey, their already dead" he said taking her hands in his, as he looked at her in concern, his eyes flickering to the morgue.

Sara swallowed, she said that out loud. Emotions started to elope her, her chest started to contract, she needed air.

"Nick, please get me out of her" she said in a small voice.

Nodding, still holding a hand he lead her from the building.

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A/N: Ok no creepy visions in this one, but he hallucinations will get worse and t will get creepy I can promise that. I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP, probably tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4: It's all becoming foggy

Sara sat quietly in the run down Café. Nick sat across from her his eyes trained on her face, her's to the plate sitting in front of her, which's contents was being pushed idly around her plate. Taking a deep breath she gathered the courage to meet Nicks eyes. Was he going to ask what was going on? Could she even say it? Would he understand? Did she even? When her eyes met his the things she saw in place of questions were warmth, friendship, and patients. He understood that she wasn't ready to talk. Relief folded through her.

"You actually gonna eat that food, or just play with it?" Nick asked with a smile as her saw her start to relax. Picking up her fork she started chipping a way at the meal in front of her. They filled the next half an hour with talk of their everyday life, something they hadn't talked about for a while. The conversation came easily, at no point did one of them have to go to shop talk to fill uncomfortable silences, there wasn't any. It was all very easy and comfortable. After finishing up and paying the bill they left the old café and headed to the car. They sat for a few minutes in silence Nicks gaze was cast out the window, after a moment he spoke, "I know we haven't been that close lately, but that doesn't mean I've stopped caring Sar" She looked at him in shock. Turning to look her in they eye he continued, " Sara you're my best friend, if you need me, anytime, just give me a hint and I'll be there for you". She gave a small smile. She knew he was being honest, and this wasn't some lip service because he didn't know what to say. She knew he was curious about what was going on and was thankful that he wasn't pressing her to talk about something she wasn't ready to. Her mind drifted back to the lab and into the morgue, the memory of the two girls were so vivid in her mind she could almost smell the formaldehyde. Her heart started to beat faster. Could she do it, go through all that again? Unearth some things that were meant to stay buried? Then again there was a chance this was all a coincidence, after all they would have **never** let him out…

Her mind was racing, Nick could see it in her eyes. He placed a hand over hers, and her thoughts came to a screeching halt.

"What ever it is Sar, I'll help you" Nick soothed.

Her heart slowed, squeezing her and in his she looked out the window as he started the car

It took 5 minutes on the road before Sara was down for the count. He was worried about her, he never saw her like this before, sure she got obsessive about cases occasionally, but this was completely different. Had she been like this long, had he just not noticed? That thought broke his hear, had they drifted apart so much that he hadn't noticed this change? She seemed to be teetering on the edge of something, with the threat of falling off and shattering into a billion pieces. Outside the morgue it had seemed like she barely noticed he was there. It was almost like she was in denial about something, it terrified him to his soul that he had to tell her the victims were already dead. This was more then a case of the flue with low blood sugar and lack of sleep mixed in. Glancing over at his sleeping friend he knew something was seriously wrong, and that he wouldn't walk away for anything.

Sara woke up in the parking lot of the lab. Getting her bearings she looked over at Nick.

"I was asleep" she said. Nick noticed it was more of a statement then a question.

"How long" she continued.

"About 25 minutes" he answered.

"What, it should have only taken 10 to get back" she said with a questioning look in her eyes.

"I drove around for a while, you looked like you could use the rest".

"Thanks" she smiled shyly pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"No problem", he grinned. So there was a little bit of the old Sara in there.

Sara looked back at the lab in dread. There were calls to make, people to talk to. What if by some curse from hell it was him. Those two fit his pattern. Before she jumped to any conclusions she was going to check and see if there had been any murders in the past little while that fit the same M.O. They walked into the lab, turning to Nick she said, " Thank you for getting me outta here earlier, I was a little out of it, but I'll be okay, I promise" God she hoped she wasn't lying.

" You sure, if you need me just call Sar" Nick said looking at her in concern.

"I know" she nodded her head and smiled.

"I gotta get back to work, I'll talk to you later." She said walking away.

"hey" he called out, turning around she stopped.

"Tomorrow night, do you have it off?"

" Yeah, but with this new case I was.." nick cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"No, you are going home as soon as this shift ends, you are sleeping, then tomorrow night you are coming over to my place where I'll cook something to eat" he said with a smile.

Sara could feel the corners of her mouth turning up as she attempted to look angry at Nick for telling her what to do. Shaking her head she said, "Fine, but if your making me drag my ass all the way to your place it better be good food, no take out" she said grinning.

"Deal" he called to her back since she was already walking away. Turning into the conference room she closed the door behind her. She stared at the phone on the table. Sitting herself in a chair, she picked up the phone and dialed a number she hadn't in 7 years.

San Francisco: Today.

Detective John Langdon sat at his desk staring grumpily at a pile of paper work. God he hated paper work. He reached for his pen, might as well start getting it over with, he though gloomily to himself. The phone rang by his hand, grabbing it eagerly, thankful for an excuse to put off the hell sent pile of paper that seemed to b growing as he stared at it.

"Langdon" he replied in to the receiver.

A quiet voice came over the phone, "John".

He recognized it immediately even though he hadn't heard it in 7 years.

Sitting up he spoke into the phone, "Sara, is that you?"

"Yeah, John it's me…I need your help."

Sara's shaking hand put the phone back in the cradle. Taking a deep breath she tried to settle her nerves. A copy cat. She knew there was no way on Gods green Earth that that sociopath would have been released from jail. Still there was a chance this was all a coincidence. John had offered his help, she knew he would have. But before anything was done she had to see if anymore murders in this area fit that M.O.

San Francisco: Today.

Sara Sidle. John sighed. The last time he saw her that morning at her apartment before she transferred away to another lab in Frisco. His heart broke as his mind drifted back.

_He lifted his hand and rapped on the door. He hear her moving around the apartment inside, the chain slide, the lock unlock and door handle twist. She stood in front of him. Her eyes red from crying. Turing aside she let him in and returned to the boxes._

"_Packing up Ari's stuff" he said looking at the packing supplies._

_Picking up a photo and staring at the two smiling faces in the image. "Yeah, I'm sending most of it to her family in New York, she'd want them to have this stuff sent to them". She tossed the photo in to the packing box beside her. " God I hadn't noticed how much stuff we had shoved in this apartment, we have such the same tastes I can barely tell who's is who's" Her voice sounded steady but he knew she was breaking. He nodded silently, not knowing what to do or say._

"_I wish, I had gotten there sooner Sar, I wish…I wish this all had turned out differently" he knew this wouldn't really make any difference, because she was probably feeling the same way, but he needed to say this. He knew he would never get to say this to Ari, but maybe saying it to her best friend would do something, a chip in the penance he would be paying the rest of his life._

"_It wasn't your fault John" was her soft reply._

_He watched her shoulders sag forward. Placing a hand on her shoulder he quietly said, "It wasn't yours either Sara". Sobs broke the quietness of the apartment as he pulled her into a hug._

Thrusting his hand through his hair he got up from his chair. What kind of sick son of a bitch would copy the Frisco Choker? He was worried about Sara, he knew when she left without saying goodbye that she needed time, and that she would be pissed if he knew he had kept tabs on her. Last time this case was around it sent her to ocean ridge, but she got out and she moved on, this time, this time it could end up sending her there for life.

A/n: Ok so I don't have much spare time, if you want me to finish this, you gotta review so I know.


	5. Chapter 5: resurfacing

.I really hated writing this chapter. It creeped me out even thinking about writing it, but it had to be written to move on with the story. I think I've put it off for long enough.

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The knowledge that the two women now identified as Rebecca Mitchells and Eva Holden, could be two victims of a serial killer was a large weight on Sara's chest. The likelihood of it was becoming more and more apparent. The two women didn't seem to know each other and there was no apparent connective places between the two. And both were killed in the same way, the same way seven women were killed in San Francisco. The same way-

Sara's thoughts were cut off by a quick rap on the door behind her. Turning around she came eye to eye with Mia.

"Hey, I heard what happened earlier. How are you feeling?" She asked leaning against the door frame.

Embarrassed Sara looked away, "Fine, really, just low blood sugar."

"Good. Anyway when you were out to lunch with Nick, Doc Robins found some skin scrapings under one of your vics nails, a uh, Rebecca Mitchells."

Sara's heart started to race, this was good news.

"Unfortunately" Mia continued, "since there is nothing to compare it too, all I can tell you is that it's male."

Sara nodded feeling a little foolish for getting so excited.

"Thanks Mia" Sara said.

Mia smiled and turned away leaving Sara alone. Sara turned back to the computer in front of her. It was still running a search for similar crimes committed in Nevada. With nothing more to do for the moment she spread the crime scene photos on the floor around her, looking for anything that would help her figure this out. That's were she was found 4 hours later by Warrick, who was preparing to leave.

"Sar?" He called questioningly into the room from the doorway, his bag thrown over his shoulder.

Not looking up, a quiet "humm" passed through her lips allowing Warrick know she had at least acknowledged his present.

"Girl, you OK" he asked coming closer to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, only to have her jumps away and look up at him in terror. He pulled back at the look in her eyes.

"Whoa, Sara, you OK, you look terrified" He said, concern evident in his voice.

"Oh, ah, it's… the photos, I was just really concentration… on the photos," she stuttered waving her hands at the pictures around her, composing herself she said, "you startled me."

"Sorry" Warrick said.

Extending a hand to her he pulled her up off the floor.

"Shifts over, you should be heading home," he said. Cutting her off before she could say anymore, "I heard what happened earlier, your going home Sar, even if I have to drive you home myself," he said more sternly.

At first she opened her mouth to fight but was hit with a wave of exhaustion.

"Your right, I need to go home."

She bent down and started picking up the photos. She heard Warrick place his bag on the ground and the sound of the pictures being lifted off the ground. She grabbed the last of the photos and stood up to see Warrick standing by the computer she had been occupying a few hours earlier. The weight in Sara's chest seemed to have gotten larger.

"Why are you looking for similar crimes committed in the area" He asked still looking at the computer.

Sara stumbled for words.

"Just checking, you know two girls killed in the same way different times, just checking" she answered quietly.

Turning around Warrick met her eyes, "do you think you have a serial killer?"

The lump in Sara's chest felt like it was crushing her now. She fought back the urge to scream no, to reject any possibility of it. To lie. Instead she settled for the middle ground, denying the knowledge.

"I'm not sure yet." The words were heavy on her tongue.

Warrick watched her a little while longer. Unable to keep his questioning gaze she turned away and put everything away.

"OK," was his only response.

Placing a fake smile on her face she met his gaze once again, "Come on lets get out of here" she said as she headed for the door.

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As soon as Sara entered her apartment she headed strait to her room. Taking off her boot she climbed into bed. As exhausted as she was, 2 hours later she was still unable to fall asleep. Climbing off the bed she padded into her bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet door her hand reached for a familiar bottle. Opening in and taking a pill from the near empty container, she swallowed it with no difficulty, placed it back in its spot in the cabinet and headed back. She soon succumbed to the medically induced sleep.

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'The dripping was getting louder. What was it? Leaky pipe maybe. There had to be tons in this old warehouse .God, who the hell cared about a stupid pipe' Sara snapped from her thoughts. She needed to keep focus and stay calm. She turned her attention back to John who was beside her, she swallowed the lump in her throat from the sight of his gun drawn. Fear had developed into a hard pit in her stomach. 'Where **was** Ari, she should be here, her message said that she'd meet us here. Aribella could be a little flighty sometimes but she was a good cop, she wouldn't be late to a possible crime scene'. The pit of fear seemed to squeeze harder in her stomach as she fought away panic. That damn dripping seemed to becoming from behind the door in front of them. She turned the doorknob and pushed the stiff door open.

Sara could feel the curdling scream come from her throat at the sight of the girl with long black hair and midnight blue eyes swaying at the end of a rope hanging from the sealing. Her eyes clouded over, vacant of any life. The violent red of the blood from the wound on her head was so strong against the paleness of her lily white skin. Sara eyes followed the trail of blood down the body of her best friend, past her feet and down a foot of air till they reached the floor, where a pool of blood had gathered. The rhythmic plunking seemed so loud as each red drop gained the ocean of blood beneath her.

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AN: On to the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6: Pain

Sara shot out of bed, gasping for breath. Oh God, Oh God. A stab of pain clutched her stomach, the pain of losing her best friend. It was seven years later, and it still hurt so badly. Sara felt the hot tears rolling down her face, doing nothing about them she rolled to her side and clutched her stomach and let them fall. Beyond her own sobs Sara could hear the soft dripping coming from outside her room. Fear hit her as she stared a her bedroom door. Quietly she pulled off her blanket and headed for the door and reached for the handle. She pulled it back at the memory of her dream. Taking a shakey breath she reached for the door and followed the dripping noise to the kitchen. She could hear her heart pounding as she forced herself to take another step. Her eyes flew around the living room, as she headed towards the kitchen. She stopped and looked to the kitchen sink faucet as another drop hit the mettle sink bottom. Sara snapped.

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Nick was getting worried as he looked over at the clock, Sara was suppose to be here half an hour ago. Picking up his phone he tried her cell phone. When he got no answer her tried her home number , only to get the same result. Turing off all the appliances. He grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on, pulling the keys from his pocket he headed out the door and too his car. Nick knew what he was doing was irrational, hell maybe she was on her way now, but the sinking feeling in his stomach kept him driving. He parked his car in front of her apartment complex. He climbed her stairs two at a time till he reached the third floor, her floor. Counting the doors off as he went He reached 36 and knocked on her door.

After a moment he called, "Sara". But there was no response. Nick turned to leave when he heard a mettle cling come from the other side of the door. Nick found her spare key on the key ring in his hand. Sara had given it to him the 5th time she lost it. She said she knew he'd take better care of it then she could. He opened the door and met by the sight of Sara sitting on the water covered floor, leaning against the refrigerator, pipes splayed everywhere, mixed in with tools. The water spraying from the pipe-less space under her sink. Nick dashed over to her, climbing under the sink to turn of the water. Once it was off Nick wiped the water from his face and looked around him. He stared at the mess in disbelief when he noticed a crimson smear on the on the screwdriver handle. His eyes flashed to her, and quickly crawled to her. Her eyes were unfocused, and she didn't seem to have noticed he came in.

"Sara, honey look at me" he called as he checked her over, there were no cuts on her head, or blood on her shirt. The he noticed her gaze, he followed it down to her hand. A mean gash on her left hand stared back at him.

"Sara, what the hell happened" He asked as he grabbed paper towel from the counter above him. He grabbed her hand and went to place the towel on her hand when she pulled it away. Nick looked into Sara's eyes. Did she even know he was here? She looked so far into her own world.

"It's fine. It'll go away soon, it never lasts long" Sara mumbled.

"Sara what the hell are you talking about? What doesn't last long?" Nick asked as he took her hand again. She started to struggle against him.

"Sara stop it, let me put some on the cut" He said as he pushed the towel to the cut. He heard a sharp intake of breath. He looked up to Sara and her eyes seemed to focus again.

"Ow" she said, surprise evident in her voice.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Pain. She felt pain. Relief filled the void of emotion inside of her. This wasn't a hallucination, the blood was real, maybe she wasn't going crazy. Laughter bubbled out of her. She didn't know why she was laughing, none of this was funny, but it seemed like it was all she could do. Her eyes met Nicks frightened ones for a moment. She knew she was scaring him, but she couldn't stop laughing. She felt Nicks arms on her shoulders and she felt him shaking her, she could even hear him calling her name, But she didn't stop laughing until she held her face and made her look at him. The laughter died in her throat.

"Sara your coming home with me" he said still holding her gaze. He stood up pulling her with him. She felt week and went limp in his arms. Nick pulled her from the apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. She leaded against him all the way to his car, until the seat was able support her weight. During the drive she could feel Nicks worried looks on her, but she never met them, she just gazed out the window.

Sara stood in Nicks Bathroom holding the plaid robe in her hands. Nick told her to take her wet clothing off and put the robe on. She peeled the wet clothing off her body, and rapped herself in it. Making sure the belt was tight she headed out of the bathroom. Nick met her and quietly took the soaked clothing from her hand and disappeared down the hallway. Sara made her way to the couch. Tucking her feet under herself, she leaned into the arm of the couch. She heard Nick come up the hall. Looking up she caught his eyes as he came into view. His eyes wiped over her. Self consciously she tried to fix her stringy soaked hair, and met his eyes once again. He came over to where she sat. That was when she noticed the mettle box in his hand. A large red cross graced the lid of it. Silently he sat beside her opened the case, took out bandages, and took her and in his. The sat there, neither speaking as Nick treated her injured hand. When he was done he kept her hand in his, and he looked up to Sara's watching eyes

"Nick, I need to tell you something,"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A/n: Next chapter will have a lot of the answers about Sara's past, but not all of them.


	7. Chapter 7: The truth shall set you free?

* * *

Ok. It has been forever since I have done anything on this story. I am going to attempt to finish it. WARNING: HAS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE.

* * *

Sara's heart raced. She had to explain everything to Nick. But what would he think of her once she was done? Could he understand? Would he treat her differently? Everyone else who had known treated her differently. They acted like she was made of glass. They seemed to think if they made the wrong move, said the wrong thing, hell made the wrong facial expression she'd spiral out of control. Sara thought back to her apartment. She remembered the pipe thrown carelessly beside her, the water spreading out from what had been left of her kitchen sink pipes and the blood that began to pool as it dripped down from the gash on her hand.

_Shit,_ she thought, _maybe they're right_.

Sara lifted her eyes up to meet Nicks. Behind the concern and attempt to appear comforting she saw what she had seen so many times before. Fear. Hell she should recognize it by now, her life was full of it. She saw it on the looks of victims, witnesses and even her friends on occasion. What exactly was Nick afraid of, was it her. Was he scared she was going to snap and try to kill herself? Or was he afraid of what she was about to tell him?

"The screw driver slipped" she said quietly, as she indicated with her injured hand.

They fell silent once again. Sara swallowed the lump that was gathering in her throat. She tried to calm herself. _Sara Sidle doesn't cry, get a hold of yourself_. She looked back into Nicks eyes.

"It was an accident. I was trying to fix the dripping, and God knows I haven't a clue about the plumbing. I know I should have called a plumber or my super or someone, but the dripping was just so damn loud, I couldn't concentrate; it was driving me a little up the walls, I couldn't wait. I had to make the dripping stop." _**Shut up**__ Sara, you're rambling like an idiot_, she thought to herself. She started to lose her nerve. What if she told him and he was too freaked out to be her friend any more?

"Thank you for bandaging my hand, I really hadn't noticed I cut it." She gave him a weak smile. She knew it was a sad attempt at making the situation seem less real, intense and scary then it was.

"Can I ask you a question Sare," Nick said quietly.

When she nodded her agreement he continued on.

"When I tried to put something on your hand at first, you said 'It's fine. It'll go away soon, it never lasts long'. What did you mean by that?" Nicks comforting, soothing gaze gave Sara enough courage to say what she knew she had to.

He was her friend, her best friend. He deserved to know what was going on with her. He needed to know and she needed to tell someone.

"I thought it was a hallucination, an illusion brought on by hysteria, what ever you want to call it." When no judgment entered his expression she continued.

"I've had them before, that's why I thought it was fake and it would just go away." A shaky hand lifted up and brushed her hair back. Taking a deep breath she went on.

"I hadn't had them for a few years, then a couple of days ago I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I went to get a glass of water. The cold water ran over my hand as the cup overflowed. I hadn't been paying attention; I was still kinda out of it. When I lifted the cup to my lips I saw it was full of blood and that there was blood all over my hand where it had overflowed. I dropped the cup and it shattered when it hit the ground. There was so much blood, more then the cup could have held. It spread out." Sara took a deep breath to stave off the hysterics she could feel coming.

"I looked back to my hand, no blood. I looked down and there was no blood on the floors either. Just water." Sara gave an almost unnoticeable shrug of her shoulders.

"It was only water," she repeated.

"Do you know what first triggered the hallucinations, you said you had had them before" Nick asked taking her hand back into his.

"Yep" She said looking down at their clasped hands.

Looking back into his eyes she answered, "loosing my mind."

* * *

Back at the lab:

Doc Robins leaned over the body of the young deceased woman. His mind drifted back to Sara and when she passed out in the lab. Sara usually becomes emotionally involved in cases but it seemed she was more intensely involved this time. What was it about this case that was getting to Sara so much? Shaking his head in an attempt to get him mind back onto the woman in front of him he reached over her to grab one of his tools. As his body shifted closer to her head a flash of color caught his eye.

Reaching for the tweezers Doc Robins carefully extracted the object from the woman's hair.

"What the hell is this doing here?"

* * *

Back at Nicks:

Sara took a deep, shaky breath and continued on. Shit this was hard.

Sara stood up. The need to walk around, to not stay still was so intense that it felt if she stayed there she explode.

"I think what started my recent string of nightmares and hallucinations is my recent case. When I passed out in the lab, it was due to some new information I had just gotten. Not low blood sugar and the flu. I had heard what Doc Robins said and it was like my body started shutting off. I knew what the new evidence was indicating, I knew what was going to happen, but it was like my body couldn't deal with what I knew I know. Does that make any sense?" She asked looking back from Nick from where she was pacing in his living room.

She took his small nod as encouragement to go on.

"Certain aspects of the case remind me of one that occurred a few years ago, when I was working in San Francisco. We never caught that killer, and I never really let that go, so when these new victims started showing up, so much like the last…"She trailed off as she resumed her pacing.

"Back in San Francisco I used to live with my best friend Aribella, Ari. She was a cop with the department there. She worked homicide. She and I, along with another detective, John Langdon were the ones that really worked the case. More people were brought in as it got worse, but we were the ones on it from the beginning. It was the Frisco Choker case. It was awful, a new victim was turning up every month, and there was no way we could stop the guy. He left no clues. We had an idea of who it was but we had no proof."

Sara looked back to Nick. He was sitting on the couch calmly watching her. For some reason it really pissed her off. _I am retelling one of the most awful times of my life, and he just sits there? How could he stay so calm when I feel like I am being ripped apart and crushed together at the same time?_

"The case got bad. It became an obsession with all of us. We were so deep inside of it that we didn't notice the stuff right in front of us. It consumed us all, blinded us, made us vulnerable and we paid for it." Sara could see Nick sit up straiter at her last comment.

_Good._ She thought bitterly glad to see some reaction from him besides calm. _He wasn't supposed to be reacting like this. He should be more upset with me. I've lied, with held the information that we could have a serial killer on our hands because I was scared! He should he pissed at me. I have done horrible things, because of me people died._

"One day I received an email from Ari, apparently she had tracked down the Choker. He was due to take a new victim and it was possible he already had, there were so many missing person cases, it could have been any or the women on the lists or even one we didn't know about yet. Ari's message said she had found the killer in an old warehouse down by the water front and he had taken a new woman. Langdon, I and some other officers went down to the warehouse to meet Ari. She wasn't outside so we assumed she had already gone inside. We moved in quietly, we didn't want him to know we were there." _Plunk, plunk, plunk._ Sara shook her head. God remembering it was like being there, she could hear the God damn dripping noise again. "It was so damn quiet in there. There wasn't any indication of where they were. The only noise was the damn dripping."

The sound of the dripping seemed to get louder, more real in Sara's head. If seemed as if it was just in the other room. _God,_ she thought, giving a shaky laugh, _I really am going crazy._

Sara hadn't noticed Nick had moved from his position on the couch or that he was now standing up.

Nick started to reach for Sara when he realized it wouldn't do any good. She wasn't with him anymore, she was backing San Francisco. He wished he could do something, anything to stop the look of terror that was spreading on her face as she went deeper into her memories. Grabbing her and shaking her may pull her out, but he knew that was not what she needed. She needed to say what happened to her. To stop bottling up all the memories and feelings like she always did. If she did pull the release valve on all this pent up energy she was going to explode and there was no way anyone would be able to help her then.

Nick pulled his hand back squeezing his hand in a fist to prevent himself from reaching out to stop her again.

"I figured the dripping noise was coming form a leaking pipe, but as we moved deeper into the warehouse it was getting louder. I was stressed. I couldn't find Ari, we were so close to catching the bastard who killed all those women and the stupid dripping was distracting me. As I got closer to the noise I started to realize that it was coming form behind one of the closed doors. I moved towards it without really thinking. I just wanted to make it stop so I could concentrate and hear any other noises around. I pushed open the door and" Sara shook her head and hunched over a bit holding her stomach. God she was going to be sick.

Nick quickly moved to her side placing an arm over her back, but before he could say anything she waved him off. If she didn't finish now she knew she wouldn't be able to later. Standing straighter she allowed Nick to leader her the few steps back to the couch to sit back down. Taking another breath she continued on.

"It was Ari" her voice began to break, "The bastard had killed her. He hit her on the back of the head with something sharp then hung her up from the pipe above. The dripping noise was the blood from her head pooling on the floor. He killed my best friend and he wanted me to know it. He hung her so the rope would choke her. He left this sickening message pinned to her that he was sorry that he couldn't "hang" around to see us, and that he would be leaving us a new gift soon since taking Ari's life just wasn't enough. The asshole needed to kill someone with his bare hands to get off on it. He murdered my friend just for the hell of it." Nick pulled Sara to his in an attempt to comfort her as her body shook with sobs.

Running his hands up and down her back he did his best to try to ease her pain. Guilt chewed at him. What had he been thinking? He should have never have made her do this. When he saw it was to much he should have stopped her. Slowly Sara started to calm as she relaxed into Nick.

Sara took another shaky breath in. She had to finish. There was more he needed to know, more she had to get out.

Pulling back she looked him in the eye.

"Sara, are you sure you want to go on. We can stop now, you don't have to do this" Nick said quietly.

Shaking her head she when on. Her heart racing.

"Another victim showed up the next week. The same MO as his other victims excluding Ari. Then the next month nothing, the following month the same. He'd stopped. There were so many guesses to why, people were always asking questions. Did we think he would start killing again? Where had he gone? Were they safe yet? I didn't care, I was just glad he was gone." Sara swallowed and looked at Nick.

Nick reached up and brushed the strand of hair off her face, "Sar, do you think he's back and killing in Las Vegas. That the victims in the morgue are women he's killed?"

"No. I know this killer inside out, this isn't him, it can't be" she answered shaking her head.

"Are you sure? Serial killers don't just stop killing."

"I know, but I also know this isn't the same man Nick. It's a copy cat. I am sure of it"

Nodding Nick when to get up, but Sara grabbed his hand stopping him.

"I'm just grabbing something to warm you up Sara, your hands are like ice." He turned again towards the kitchen but Sara stopped him.

"Nick, there's more."

* * *

Back at the lab:

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to bother Sara. She needed the night off. I found this in the victim's hair." Dr. Robins said holding the small metal object clasped between the tweezers for Warrick to see.

"Is that what I think it is? And it that blood?" Warrick asked taking a closer look at the object.

Robins just nodded his agreement

"Damn, I think we just got our break in the case".

* * *

Back at Nicks:

"I didn't take the loss of Ari, losing the murderer or being unable to help all the other victims very well. Shortly after the Frisco Choker stopped killing I started having nightmares. I had had them all through the case, but now they had started to get worse and they were bleeding into my waking hours. I started hallucinating, seeing Ari around the lab, or I'd see the other victims. Sometimes I would see them as alive or how they were when they were alive. I saw blood a lot. On my hands, the floor, equipment I was using. I stopped sleeping because I was to afraid to go to sleep. I couldn't spend another night with those kinds of nightmares. I was able to hide it for a while but one day john found me in the middle of a terror attack. I was convinced the room was filling up with blood, that I was going to drown in it. John took me to the Ocean Ridge mental institution. He did it quietly. No one knew but him and I. All our colleagues just thought I couldn't live in San Francisco after the loss of Ari. I spent a year there working through what happened. I thought I had gotten over it, that I was OK. The hallucinations had stopped and so had the nightmares. I always thought Ari's death had been in some ways my fault. The reason she had gone to the warehouse that day was because she believed she had gotten a message from me. The Killer had hacked into our email was had sent us the fake messages. Ari went there because she believed she was meeting me. Ari had called me just shortly before she had left for the warehouse but I was so caught up in the work I was doing I forgot about everything else. I had left my cell phone in my locker that morning. If I had paid attention and taken my phone with me I could have told Ari I hadn't sent the message and she never would have left. I believed her blood was on my hands so much I started to see it. The psychiatrists at Ocean Ridge helped he work through everything so I would stop seeing the blood and the bodies, so I could sleep again."

Sara smiled weakly at Nick, "I guess it didn't work, huh?"

Nick rapped his arms around Sara again, hugging her as she shook.

"Sara, your friend's death is not your fault. The only one whose is at fault is the killer. I'm glad you told me everything. I promise I'll help you through this. You're not going crazy Sara." Nick felt some of the tension in Sara's body slip away at his last comment. After a few minutes Nick left to get Sara some tea to warm up her still ice cold body.

For a few moments Sara simply sat staring at her clenched hands_. Truth? Everything I told him was truth. I know a lie of omission is still a lie, but I don't have a choice. You would never forgive me and I can't be redeemed._

* * *

Note: Sara's finale secret, any guesses? 


	8. Chapter 8: A single moment

This chapter came out creepy.

* * *

The warm Nevada breeze brush across Nick's face. If he looked over his shoulder he would see Sara where she'd fallen asleep on his couch. Her knees were brought up to her chest, one arm spread over her bent knees the other grasping the pillow by her face. It was a protective position, even in her sleep she couldn't relax, couldn't feel safe.

_It wasn't like she was safe in her sleep anyway_, Nick thought ruefully.

About forty five minutes ago Nick had been awaken from his own restless sleep when he heard whimpering and sobbing coming from the living room. He quickly made his way out to find Sara in the midst of a heart wrenching nightmare. He had brushed her hair out of her face and whispered her name. It had calmed her down a bit, so he stayed with her, running his hand up and down her arm and saying every soothing word he could remember his mother saying to him when he woke up with a nightmare as a child.

When she had finally settled down he left her to escape on his front porch.

Nick trust a hand through his sleep rustled hair and sighed in frustration. He wished he could help, that there was some words he could say or something he could do to make everything Ok for her. He knew, probably better then anyone, that these were Sara's demons, something she'd have to conquer on her own. There weren't any words that he could say to relieve the unbearable pain that a loss of a friend brings or the guilt that is acquired when you believe it's your fault. He may have not lost a friend as brutally as Sara did, but he had lost something just as important. His childhood innocence. When his babysitter had molested him when he was little it was something that irrevocable changed his life, like the death of Sara's friend Aribella did for her. They were both screwed up from those moments, probable for the rest of their lives.

_It's strange, how it was just a moment, a few seconds, and it permanently changes you, how you think, how you react, the way you see yourself, the world. Most importantly how you trust. Without trust you don't build relationships, romantic or platonic. _

Nick knew that he could be there as a sounding board, a way to vent her anger, sadness, terror but he couldn't fix this for her.

* * *

She knew Nick thought she was asleep, and that he was worried about her. His ridged posture was visible through the open door to the porch. She found though that she just couldn't bring herself to say anything to inform Nick that she was awake. She needed to be alone. There was a deep seeded need for the quietness, the calmness that was surrounding her right now. She finally felt safe. She knew it wouldn't last, that something would break this moment and she'd been thrown back into the hell that was consuming her life. She needed this moment. She needed to know she could be alone and still feel this way. The way she used to feel before the Frisco Chocker case, the feeling she thought she was finally getting back before everything started back up again. She didn't know the word for it, or even if there was a word for it. It was a mix of calmness, confidence, contentment, comfort and peace. The way she felt when there was no guilt that suffocated her and haunted her dreams, no fear that felt too strong to overcome.

_Moments, they're just a few seconds with life altering power. The moment I was taken away to foster care, I got my acceptance letter to Harvard, when I met Ari and the moment I lost her, when I met Nick and the rest of the team, moments …It was a single moment that destroyed me, maybe a single moment can save me._

Sara shook her head trying to get purge her thoughts. She made choices, she had to deal with them now. Her confession of what had happened to her in her past helped a bit, she now knew that he wouldn't run, that she hadn't lost her friend. His confidence that she wasn't losing her mind helped too. To have someone look her in the eye and say that her biggest fear was wrong, that she was alright had helped ease the tight pressure in her chest. She didn't believe him that she wasn't going crazy, but it was still nice to hear it. She closed her eyes and adjusted her position on the couch. As she felt herself sipping back into sleep she sent a desperate plea to whoever would listen in the universe, _Help, please, help keep me sane enough to finish this… I have to finish this._

* * *

"What the hell is a cufflink doing in our victim's hair?" Warrick asked Doc Robins.

"It's possible that when he rapped his arm around her to snap her neck it was caught in her hair. If you see here the backing is sharp, it would have cut him when it ripped off the cuff. If is adrenalin was pumping with excitement, he may have not even noticed what had happened."

"There might be enough blood to test for DNA" Nick said lifting the cufflink closer to the light.

_It was possible there might be just enough, then we've go the bastard! _Warrick thought.

"I don't mean to intrude but have you heard how Sara's doing?" Doc Robbins asked as Warrick examined the link.

"Nick said she was really exhausted but she was going to come in tomorrow… I'm starting to get a little worried about her. This case seems to be really getting to her" Warrick said turning back to the pathologist.

"I agree."

"OK I'm going to take this down to DNA and see what our boys can do with it, thanks Doc."

* * *

Warrick's shoes made a loud echo as the slapped against the ground as he walked through the parkade. He hated parkades. The echo of any noise, the eerie yellow lighting, and there was always that asshole that liked to whistle as they walked through adding that perfect creepy touch. It created a perfect set for some serial killer movie. Shaking off the feel of unease crawling up his spine he continued on to his car. A soft noise caught Warrick attention. Stopping Warrick glanced around the dark concert building. The echo of what was defiantly foot steps made it confusing on which direction the noise was coming from. Warrick's heart pick up a few beats as he continued on to his car at a slightly faster pace. He turned around the corner and header to the car. He took his keys out of his pocket and attempted to open the door when a reflection in the window caught his eye. Swinging around he came eye to eye with a pair of strange brown eyes.

* * *

Sara felt the had drift down her side to her hip. The slight touch lifted her mind from sleep. _Nick?_ Shifting slightly she started drifting back to sleep.

"Sara."

Sara's body twitched at the call of her name. Her mind still foggy from sleep, didn't recognize the voice.

"Sara"

She came closer to the waking world.

"Sara"

Sara jolted up. There was definitely someone calling her name. With a shaky hand she pushed aside the soft blanket that had fallen to her lap when he sat up. The house was dark and quiet. A feeling of unease settled over Sara. She'd never seen Nick's place like this before. When ever she'd been here it was full of light, and loud, whether it be from music of from people laughing. It was so quiet now. She felt her skin cool and breathing got heaver. Looking around Nicks home she saw nothing. The only sounds she heard were the Nicks refrigerator. She walked down the hall listening for movement. Reaching for Nicks bedroom door, she turned the cool metal knob. Glancing inside she saw him covered by a blanket crinkled by a restless sleep, the only noise she heard was his rhythmic breathing. Shaking her head she headed back towards the couch.

"Sara." The voice was quicker sharper this time, more urgent. Spinning around she tried to identify which direction the voice was coming from. There was no one there but her and Nick.

"Oh God" she whispered, "I just need to keep it together for a little while longer." _I can do this_. Sinking down to her knees in the middle of the living room she clasped her hands to head she tried to control her breathing, to calm herself down. What had they taught her at Ocean Ridge. _Breath. Just breath and remember this isn't real, no one can hurt me. I'm safe._

"Sara"

Outside, the voice was outside. Throwing her head up she looked out the open door, where she saw a sight she'd seen before. The body of her best friend hung from the porch rafters, blood pooling at her feet.

Sara stumbled back. "This isn't real, this isn't real" she mumbled crawling backwards unable to take her eyes away from the site in front of her.

"No, no, no. no. This isn't real" shaking her head she stumbled and fell back onto her forearms.

The blood spread of from where it was pooling, quickly approaching Sara's feet. She continued to move backwards quickly slamming up against the wall watching as the flood of red distorted the clean cream carpet of Nicks floor into a sea of blood. She lifted her knees to her chest and rapped her arms around her knees. The blood continued to close in on her and started to fill the room. Terror closed Sara's throat. _Scream, for the love of God scream for help before you drown!_ She thought to her self as panic seized her and her body shock. Tearing her eyes from the blood she looked back to the body and the haunting blue eyes staring at her from her dead friend. She watched as her friends blue ships shaped the words and the name "Sara" shattered the silence in the room. A scream of terror erupted from Sara's lips.

* * *

The blood curtailing scream jolted Nick From his sleep. Dashing to the living room he found Sara rocking herself against the wall, her eyes pressed to her knees. Kneeling in front of her to grasped her arms and called her name. When she didn't respond she shook her shoulders, calling her name louder. Her head raised and Nicks eyes met ones like he had never seen before. Pure terror filled her completely.

"Please, Nick, help me. God the blood, there is so much blood." Her voice was broken, scared and frighteningly childlike.

Rapping his arms around her, he rocked her.

"Everything is alright Sare, there's no blood"

"No it's everywhere, don't you see it. We have to get out. We'll drown. Ari! We have to help Ari. We have to get her down. We have to save her." Her movements were jerky and her body was ridged with fear as she tried to pull back

"Sara there's no blood and Ari's not here. Were alone Sara."

"NO, she's here, don't you see her hanging on the porch." Sara said forcefully not tearing her eyes from Nick, too terrified at what she might see around them if she did.

"Sara look around there is no blood or your friend hanging on the porch. You're seeing things."

Shaking her head, a broken "no" came from Sara's lips.

"Sara look around" Nick said forcefully hoping that seeing she was safe would break the hold the hallucination and the terror had on her.

Sara's eyes slowly broke from Nicks and looked around the room. He eyes saw only a clean room and an empty door way. Turning back to Nick her devastated gaze begged Nick for answers.

"You were seeing things Sara. It's alright now"

"Oh God. Nick I can't do this again. Please help me" she sobbed as she turned into Nicks arms.

"Shhh, Sara. It's going to be alright. I promise you. It'll be alright" Nick held her as her body stopped shaking and she relaxed in his arms. After a few moments Nick realized her body had became too still and relaxed in his arms, that she was actually more limp than relaxed.

"Sara?" When she didn't respond the looked towards her turned down head. "Sara?"

When she didn't move he reached down to turn her head up to him and found her eyes closed.

" Sara. Sara, come on wake up." Patting her cheek he called louder. "**Sara wake up**."

Her breathing was shallow. Resting his hands on her wrist's pulse point and a weak rhythmic bumping met his finger tips.

"Shit"

Grabbing the phone off the table next to him he called 911.

"This is CSI Nick Stokes I need an ambulance"

* * *

Ok. Chapter done. I'm hoping to finish this story soon. **Please** review. 


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